Stephen Graham had way bigger role in scrapped original version of Adolescence

Adolescence star Stephen Graham is already very busy in the Netflix show – but his role was apparently even bigger in an earlier version.

The four-part series, which debuted in March, has quickly sparked a national conversation about misogyny in online spaces and the widening distance between parents and children in the social media age.

It follows the lives of Miller family, whose worlds are turned upside down when 13-year-old son Jamie is accused of murdering a girl in his class at school.

Praised by the likes of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, it was announced shortly after its premiere on Netflix that Adolescence would be made available for free to be watched in schools.

Drawing particular praise has been the performances of the central cast, including Ashley Walters, Owen Cooper, Erin Doherty, and, of course, Stephen himself.

The 51-year-old actor, who is also known for his work on Line of Duty, Peaky Blinders, and This Is England, plays dad Eddie, whose son Jamie is the focus of the story.

Appearing in three of the four hour-long one-take episodes – as well as producing and writing – Stephen already had a lot on his plate when it came to the creation of Adolescence.

But it seems he would have had even more to do if the creators of the Netflix hit had stuck with their original idea for the biggest show of 2025 thus far.

Eagle-eyed viewers spotted that American actor Brad Pitt is down as an executive producer on the series – this apparently came about after Brad spotted Stephen in 2021 drama Boiling Point, also shot in one-take.

Stephen said he was approached by Brad’s team with an idea: ‘If I’m completely honest, they said, “We want to develop a character and do eight one-hour episodes around Stephen”.’

When he decided he didn’t fancy doing eight episodes all in one take, he went back to Brad’s company – named Plan B – with a different version of the original plan.

He told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘Call it divine intervention, or you know how musicians say they tap into the ether? I just said, “But [Adolescence] is what I want to do”.’

Adolescence’s one-take wizardry has captivated Netflix viewers this year, with the series tipped to win several awards when the time comes for the next round of Baftas and Emmys.

This week, BBC Breakfast presenters Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt clashed with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who is yet to watch the series and revealed she’s unlikely to ever do so.

The Leader of the Opposition had initially been invited on by Naga, 50, and her co-host Charlie Stayt, 62, to discuss local elections, but the conversation soon turned to the Netflix drama.

When asked whether she’d tuned in yet, Kemi said: ‘No, no, I haven’t. I probably won’t. It’s a film on Netflix and most of my time right now is spent visiting [people] in this country.’

This echoed a previous statement she had made, in which she said she ‘didn’t have the time to watch anything’ in her job and that Adolescence was a ‘fictional representation’ of serious issues.

Watch Adolescence on Netflix.

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